The Broken Bond

Chapter 7: Nightmares

"Ezra, it's too late"

"Ezra, you need to get out of here..."

"No, I can't leave you."

"They're all dead. All because of you..."

Ezra sits up, panting. His hands shake as he rests his head in his hands. As a tear slides down his cheek, the med bay door opens. Ezra wipes the tear away and puts his hands in his lap. Hera smiles, "You're awake!" She runs over to his bed and hugs him. "We were afraid you wouldn't wake up!" Ezra chuckles but stops, his hand resting over his stomach. He looks at Hera. "You have a broken wrist, a bruised lung, cuts on your stomach, arms, legs, and a bump on your head. You were hurt, badly." She places her hand on his, "But you'll be alright. As long as you don't do much while you're healing. Meaning, no running away." Ezra rolls his eyes. "Like I could in this situation." Hera looks down. "Well, I should tell the others you're awake-" Ezra grabs her wrist. "No, please don't. At Least, not yet." Hera nods. "Alright. Here, take this. It should help with the pain." As Ezra lays back down, Hera stays, holding his hand. Ezra falls asleep instantly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~

"Fiona, Alex, John, run!" I call out as we dodge the bucket-heads shots. "Ezra, we won't make it! Ezra, you need to get out of here." John yells back, knocking down 3 troopers. "No. I'm not leaving you behind!" As Fiona and Alex near me, John jumps behind a crate. As the Empire's TIE's shoot at rebel x-wings, they knock out 3 dozen more troopers. When John finally joins us, Fiona rolls her eyes. "Took you long enough." John snickers, "Yeah, well it's hard crossing an Imperial docking bay without being shot." As we run towards the waiting rebel ship, I am pushed to the side. As I fall, Alex falls next to me. "Alex!" I scramble over to her. Before I could reach her, John grabs me. "Alex! Alex!" I try to fight John to get to her. "Ezra, it's too late," John whispers in my ear. I feel a hot tear run down my cheek. "Alex..." As I am pulled away by John, we finally reach the ship. "Fiona, come on. You're goi-" He falls. "John!" I scream. He falls from the ramp and onto the metal ground. I jump from the docking bay ramp and kneel beside him. "It's going to be okay, It's going to be okay." I remove his hand from his wound. His blood starts to come out, fast. I look towards his face, scared, feeling as if I'm losing everything again, for the first time since I left the Ghost Crew. "Hey, Ez. I'm going to be okay, I promise." He smiles and closes his eyes. "No, I can't leave you. John? John! No!" I check his pulse. "No..." As I stand up, time seems to slow down. "Ezra!" I look to my left as Fiona gets shot through the arm and stomach. "Fiona! No!" I turn in circles. "Fiona, John, Alex, no... No...NO!" As everything speeds back up, the troopers stop firing, for they were pushed back, by me. My hands clench by my sides and the troopers start to fly in the air. I slowly lift up my hand and push them backward into the wall, knocking the wind out of them. As more troopers come out of a door, I don't notice that the rebel ship was blown up. I don't notice when the 7th sister and 5th brother capture me. I don't notice that I'm being dragged to a cell so they can torture me. I don't notice that tears are falling quickly down my face. All I realize is that my friends are dead. All. Because. Of. Me.

~~~~~~

The silence wakes me. I stand in a pool of light in the middle of a room. I see a shadow in the corner of the room. "How long have you been standing there?" I say quietly, my voice hoarse and dry. The shadow moves. "Longer than you'd like." The shadow moves. "You have no power over me!" I call out. It chuckles. "You sure about that?" I scream, electricity going through my body. "You know," It says, walking in circles around me. "I'm not as bad as they say. As you think." I snarl, "Oh, really, Inquisitor or whatever sister or brother you are." They chuckle, "Ooh, name-calling. So fearsome." I roll my eyes. " You know, there are at least ten ways this could've gone better. Literally. I'm actually counting them in my head right now." I could almost see them frown. "Truth be told, I'm not sure any of them are actually dead." They say, hands going behind their back. "For all you know, they could be in the room right next to you, and you'll never know," I growl. They chuckle. "That's right. You saw them drop to the ground and die. Didn't one of them die in your arms?" I close my eyes, shaking my head. I try to get rid of the image. I feel a tear fall from my eye. "And doesn't it bother you at all that you are the one who killed them all?" I scream, the battle in my head. Playing over and over again. "I think I broke him." My eyes snap to the shadow, but it's gone. "You know," My head snaps to the side. I hear them but I don't see them. "Sometimes memories are the worst form of torture."

"Get out of my head!" I scream. The pool of light shrinks. "You're the reason they're dead!"

"NO!"

"YOU'RE ALONE NOW!"

"I'd rather be dead!" It chuckles. "I can make that happen." A sharp pain goes through my arm and I start to bleed. It happens again, but this time on my shin.

"Ezra! Snap out of it!" I look for the new voice. "Kanan?"

"Ezra, you're dreaming!"

"Kanan, please. I don't know what's going on!"

"Ezra, wake up!"

"He can't hear me," I mumble to myself.

"Please Ezra. Wake up. You're ok. Come back. Please wake up. Don't do this to me."
"Kanan..." I start, but he still can't hear me.

"Please... Come back to us. To me..."
"Kanan! I'm sorry I ran!"
"Ezra?!" He calls out.

"Kanan? Can you hear me?" His shadow appears in front of me. The pool of light grows so it is now on Kanan and me. "Kanan! You're here! How?" He smiles. "It's just a dream, Ezra. You're asleep." My dream brightens and I see blue and green doors. "Kanan, what are those?" He looks at the doors and frowns. "They're memories. Good and bad ones. Mine are green and yours are blue." I get up and walk to one. As I open it, the battle plays out on the other side of the door. I close it. "Kanan, can you keep a secret?" I ask, afraid. Kanan walks over to me. "Sure." I open the door and Kanan watches in horror. When it ends and starts to replay the memory, Kanan looks at me. "Ezra, what was that?"
"Those people, they were my old family, my old crew. The ones who took me in after I left the Ghost Crew. They took me in when nobody else would I was part of the crew. I was with them for few months. One day we were transporting some cargo and the Empire asked us what was in the crates. They boarded our ship and we were arrested. We almost escaped, what they shot them because they knew who I was. They wanted to give them information about the Rebellion, I told them I didn't know anything, that they had the wrong person. When help had come, I couldn't protect them. They knew who I was, they wanted me to live. It was my fault and I am the reason they are dead. They protected me they took care of me and the way I repaid them was getting them killed. It's all my fault I have nightmares it's just them getting shot all over again and I can't make it stop no matter what I do they always die." Kanan walks over to me. "I'm so sorry Ezra."

I look down. "I'm sorry too, Kanan. I'm sorry that I ran. I should've listened to you." Kanan hugs me and I hug him back. "We all make mistakes, Ezra. I ran when my master told me to when the clones carried out Order 66. I made that same mistake with you. I let you run. I'm not letting you go again." As we separate, the door that I showed Kanan turned to gold. As we walk away, the doors behind us fades, the memory fading, for a new start had begun, and the past was fading because tomorrow will come and hopefully without the worry of yesterday.